Ferris State University’s Kendall College of Art and Design and The Wege Foundation
announced a new, annual, transdisciplinary design competition that gives teams of
five students a chance to work collaboratively, use design thinking principles and
win the Wege Prize – $30,000 in total cash prizes – to show the world how the future
of problem solving will look.

This year’s wicked problem: “How can we create a circular economy?” A circular economy
is a tightly-looped, restorative economic cycle where resources can be re-adapted
for use without limiting the desirability of products or the loss of revenue. Continued
reliance on the current model of extract-manufacture-dispose, which is contingent
upon vast reserves of expendable resources and an environment that can absorb the
waste, could mean humanity will never inhabit a sustainable planet. The challenge
is to design a product, service or business model that can function and help create
a paradigm shift toward a circular economic model. Teams have until Feb. 16, 2014
to develop a solution.

To participate on a team, and compete for the Wege Prize, an entrant must be a full-time
undergraduate student (12-plus credits/semester). All teams must consist of five students from at least two different educational
institutions and represent three or more different academic disciplines. Entrants
are encouraged to find teammates, create a team and visit wegeprize.org/registration for competition details and registration. Registration is underway, and teams must
be registered, in full, no later than Sunday, Dec. 1.

Solutions will be judged on cogency, process, impact and illustration. What have you
designed? How did you arrive at your solution? Have you considered all the necessary
factors of the wicked problem? Can your solution be realistically implemented on a
large scale? Can you communicate your solution visually in a way that will convince
others of its worth? These are among the questions that should come up during the
project.

All submissions will be initially judged by a review panel. The panel will select
the top five solutions to advance in the competition. The five entries will be displayed
at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, in Grand Rapids, and online at http://www.wegeprize.org/. The public will view the entries and cast votes for the one that impresses them
the most. Finalists will present their solutions to a panel of guest judges who will
examine the solutions and name the winners of the first-and second-place awards.